The mediating roles of emotion regulation difficulties and self-compassion in the association between positive childhood experiences and subjective well-being

The childhood period holds a significant place in an individual's lifelong development. Establishing positive relationships within a supportive and secure environment enhances psychological resilience and, in turn, strengthens subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is an internal process based on overall life satisfaction and emotional experiences. Inadequate emotional support received during childhood may lead to difficulties in adaptation throughout life. Emotion regulation difficulties refer to challenges in recognizing, understanding, expressing, and managing emotions. It can be suggested that self-compassion supports subjective well-being by maintaining emotional stability. Self-compassion refers to an individual's ability to adopt an understanding and supportive attitude towards their own negative experiences. This study examined the mediating roles of emotion regulation difficulties and self-compassion in the relationship between positive childhood experiences and subjective well-being. The study sample consisted of a total of 576 participants, including 433 women and 143 men. The research utilized the Personal Information Form, the Benevolent Childhood Experiences Scale, the Subjective Well-Being Scale, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Self-Compassion Scale. All measurement tools used in the study have been psychometrically validated and tested for reliability in Turkey. Data were analyzed using Independent Samples t-Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson Correlation Analysis, and the Process Macro (Model) to examine the mediating roles of emotion regulation difficulties and self-compassion. According to the results, a moderately positive and significant relationship was found between positive childhood experiences and subjective well-being. While emotion regulation difficulties did not mediate this relationship, self-compassion was found to play a mediating role.